Author: Sue

I have been writing in various forms since I was a child. I write about what is going on in my life, what I enjoy, and the struggles of dealing with chronic illness and mental health issues. I love live music, football (Scotland and Dunfermline Athletic), reading, Formula 1, Stock Cars, and eating lots of vegan crap.

Workity Work Work

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

So.

Here I am, actually attempted to kick start my motivation again. And I am doing so with my Art & Design project. I am going to be honest, in the space of a month in a half since my last relevent update, I have done virtually no work.

I know, I know. Its really, really bad. *scolds herself*

I have attenpted more research, but I’m still not done. So I am attempting to get it all done this afternoon, and start getting a bit more excited about this project. Because right now, I have not put the time into it, so right now I feel nothing towards it.

Which is making it so much harder to get anything done. So, I am decided, that today is going to be about making myself do this work, and hopefully get more attatched to it. I mean, if I can get excited about it, it would be a lot easier.

Also, I was looking over some old sketch book, and these seem to have really inspired me, to get things done with this. Because I used to pick up influences from everywhere, and it really helped me with my work. I really need to start that again. So I went and bought a book, which will be used as a scrapbook/diary. Which is something I haven’t done in years.

So Fingers crosses it all works.

It’s Suesday

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

Still oh so very hyper.

I woke up his morning to loads of comments from twitter, people were trying to wake me up. Now, this was at about 5am, and if you know me, you know that time of the morning is a no-go area for me. Well I logged on to see that both Benji and Joel had tweeted about my thank-you thread I started on the Good Charlotte website. Now this  contained a video of  me crying like a child, because I was having an ’emo’ day, and wanted to thank the band. 

I sat staring at the apple mac screen in awe. I had no idea this had happened. And overnight, the views for my video went from 106 to way over 300.

AHHHHHH

JoelMadden

Check this out. Pretty F-in cool. http://www.goodcharlotte.com/forum/topics/thank-you-good-charlotte?commentId=2020424%3AComment%3A1538185

and
  aww sweetes thing ever #GCFAM RULES http://bit.ly/9GVMYr
That’s right, my hero, Benji Madden called the thread and video I made, the sweetest thing ever. *squee* Now, I know that this is supposed to be a creative/ college blog, but I felt that because this is SUCH a big deal to me, I thought I’d share. I mean, I need to show my personality through my blogs, and this is a part of my crazy side.
And I say that as if I have a normal side 😛

I <3 Monday

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

Today is a good day.

As in the best day I have had in aggggeeeessss.

A while ago, I submitted t-shirt designs to a few shops and online. Just because I hate the idea of stuff I like, lying around doing nothing, so I just sent them off in a PDF to see what would happen. Well a company (not going to name names incase it goes tits-up) in Edinburgh, got back to me and were intrested about purchasing the designs to sell. Also a company called threadless, have emailed me to say there is a real chance they could be selling two different designs.

*SSSQQQQUUUUEEEEEE*

I am so happy and hyper and generally I am a big shouty mess. I am so excited. Even if this doesn’t go well, I at least have some experience at meeting actual proper clients. I don’ t think I have ever been so excited, and so proud of my work. If I wasn’t at work I would post something, but I am at work, your not seeing anything.

Alllssssoooo, been asked to contribute to a new Scottish Punk fanzine which is starting in the next few weeks. Which will be so much fun. I am getting some MP3s sent through via email to review. YAY!

And I am going to write an article to be submitted for Sky’s internal customer service newsletter. I don’t know whether that will go through.

ANNNNNNDDDDD, I am writing a 10,000 word fiction for a competition.

And that is all without even touching my college work.

I don’t know the meaning of over-work obviously.

Funday?

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

So, today the most productive thing I have done this weekend is posting two Vlogs on Youtube and read Twilight.

I have Flash open, so I have gone through the motions of trying to get work done, but as of yet, I have made no progress. As for everything else, nadda been done there either.  😦

*sigh* I remember being at primary school, and I always did loads of work, and even did extra credit stuff, I was such a geeky kid. Then as I grew through high school, that resolve to doing loads of work, fell apart, and I found my self starting to fail subjects. Like English. I always write and I love reading, but yet I flunked higher English. It wasn’t that the stuff was hard, it was more challenging, it was that I couldn’t be bothered. Everything felt like too much of an effort. Which just left me frustrated

Well this frstration has continued through the rest of my education, be it the Vet Nursing or the Graphic Design. There have been a few years, where I have done really well, but most of it, I have just barely scraped a pass. And I get more frustrated and beat myself up. And that makes want to do work even less. Its a nasty circle, and I don’t know if its ever going to end.

The one thing that has changed, is that I am now feeling that I no longer HAVE to do college to be successful. Surely if I am creative, it will speak for itself and I will get work. But from looking around, things aren’t that simple and most employers in the creative sector require you to have some sort of formal training. Which is infuriating. I mean if someone has a good eye for design, or a good style, then surely that should be better than a certificate?

Doesn’t skill out-rank grade? It irritates me to no end, that if you want to be successful in this world, then you need to have to have some kind of college degree. I’m not wanting a formal job, I am pretty much decided that I am going to freelance. But I guess only time will tell if that will work or not.

*sigh*

Check out my latest Vlog:

Motivation Such An Aggrivation

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

So.

Because I am so addicted to Youtube at the moment, I have decided to link one of my other projects to it. For my final animation I have to do something for my website, a short animation which runs for like 20 seconds. What I decided to do was do an animation entrance into my website, and actually use it as an #intro’ to my Vlogs on youtube.

I think that will be a good idea, and it does make me want to go and start this now. Also , I have talked about before, how I had to do an animated e-card, and I was going to do it on Beltaine (the fire festival). Well, it was too hard to get it the way I wanted it to look. So I decided to swap the holiday to Halloween. Mostly because I was getting so frustrated that I was not wanting to even look at the stuff.

So this should make this a bit easier. I am already further ahead than what I was on my old animation. It features a cat, and a pumpkin, and I KNOW it sounds really cliched, but its something easy to do. And because I am scrapping my old one, and I have to hand it in by Monday. Thats about 4 days to do a whole animation and re-do all the planning.

Aaaaaarrrrgggghhhh!

But it has me excited over the fact that soon I could have a full animated intro to my Vlogs. *Yay*

Other than my animation, I am now designing Shaun’s portfolio site as part of my web design unit. I have done his banner for his site, and I’m going to hopefully start laying it out sometime over the last week. But at the moment I am sorting out his images, and getting all the content ready, so I can just go straight on and build the site. So things seem t0 be starting to move on that front.

Good times. 😀

I just have to hope it stays like that. *crosses fingers*

Sue the Vlogger Blogger

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

Howdy.

The world of Vlogs is an intresting one. One where you could lose hours of your life, just observing those around. Yes, youtube has destroyed whatever life I tried to have outside the interwebs. *d’oh* Basically, everyone knows I am addicted to blogging. Well vlogging is worse. I mean I make videos so that I can see the improvements, and because I really like talking about myself.

Obviously.

I find it hard telling people things face to face, so I write about it. And call me strange (no, in a minute not yet), buuutt it is a lot easier talking away to my camera, than it is a real person. (OK, now you can call me strange) I think its because when you tell someone something face-to-face, you have to see their reaction.  And if you post a video explaining something on youtube, you can kind of psyche yourself up before you see their comments. And I think thats why vlogs and sites like Youtube are so popular. And finding someone that understands you, also helps.

I find myself always on here or youtube, and I crave to see what people think. But that is kind of stupid, because I could just tell them whats on my mind, rather than stalking facebook to see  if anyone ‘likes’ my link to my new vlog. Oh well, its how I roll. I guess.

The good news is that I am on the market to get a deccent video editor,  other than windows Movie Maker, because it annoys me. Ideally I’d be using Adobe Premier Pro, because it is so easy to use. But, alas, I can’t afford it, so am stuck using the package which came with my computer.  Any suggestions, send them my way.

I’ll be so thankful, I may even create something in your honor.

Yep, I am in need of a decent video editor. Maybe its not that the software that is fail, so much as it is me.  Seeing that I have only ever made 1 other video, other than the stuff I have uploaded on my channel. Maybe it will get better.

*crosses fingers, clicks heels three times and wishes apon the brightest star that my videos get a lot better*

TGIF

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

Happy Friday everyone.

I have had a fantabulous week this week, and kind of pretended that I had a life. It was a nice change from just doing things online. The thing is, I tend to spend more money when I am out, which can be not so great. Can never win with me, I always find something to complain about.

Anyway, been sitting becoming addicted to more and more Vlogs (Video Blogs) via Youtube. I guess I like watching and taking note of how people express themselves when they talk to a camera, in the hope that I can pick up some pointers. Its the only way you learn anything like that, I guess.

So check out my second proper Vlog. Its maybe not perfect, but I had fun making it.

Its comforting to see that most of the Vlogs I have been watching, started of rather like mines. *Phewww 🙂 * So at least that’s a positive.

Random find of the day

Its an R2-D2 bin. I mean, I used to watch the orignal Star Wars trilogy ALL THE TIME, so I cannot say how excoted this has made me.  This wonderful little thing is from ThinkGeek.com- things for smart masses *yeah I loled at that*. You get a full sized one or you can get a desktop one.  Its is priced from $39,99 (£25.99) to $99,99 (£64.97). I really like them, and I have bought things off this site before. So check it out. Link to purchase R2-D2 is http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/japanfan/89e4/ .
So have an enjoyable Friday folks, I am away to earn money to pay my bills. So ciao xx

Digital Economy Act- the reaction

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

Ok, I have had quite a few comments and emails about yesterdays blog. Useful that none of them occured as comments on the actual blog. 😕 Nice.

Having  a busy day today, so this is just an update. I thought I’d show that are people are as concerned as myself about this blog.

My friend Ryan can’t understand why this has been pushed through. It is a bill of great importance to the British public and can’t understand why they could not have waited till AFTER the election to make a decision.

An anonymous comment on the LiveJournal cross post of yesterdays blog said ‘As if the government need to prove how out of touch with their voters they are.’ I have to agree with this sentiment as they obviously hasn’t been much thought and discussion into the act, I mean a 2 hour debate on the act is not enough. We, the people, need to stand up against the government and show how we feel.

Speaking of showing how you feel, yesterday I said I had contacted my MP, Willie Rennie, about why he DIDN’T vote on the act. Well, I woke up this morning with a reply from him 😮 I know, I was shocked.

The jist of what I said was –

Why were you one of the MPs who DID NOT vote in the approval for the Digital Ecconomy Act? It is a joke that it was rushed through just before Parliment was dissolved. This could potentially penalise every one of your voters with an internet connection.

And he replied-

I agree with you that it’s a bad bill and if our intelligence had shown we had a chance of defeating the Bill I would have been there. Sadly insufficient Labour MPs rebelled. However, we did secure an agreement that regulations would be required after the election and agreed by Parliament. That will give an opportunity to change the arrangements.

So is that an apt reply. It makes sense to me, I suppose why should they vote, when they won’t win. But hold on a sec, is there not a General Election coming up? Could that same mentality be used by hundreds of voters when it comes to picking a candidate. ‘Why should I vote, when the person I want won’t win?’ To be honest, I am very greatful that Mr Rennie replied to me so quickly, he (and his office) are really good at keeping in contact with people. This is the second time I have contacted him, and to be honest he has not disappointed me. Yet. I voted for him last time, and he is very good at making sure that your voice is heard. So unless he does something stupid, I will be voting Lib Dem and Willie Rennie again this year.
Also- something to note, Ofcom is supposed to be monitering the Digital Economny act, and making sure that ISPs stick to the regulations. Well, it is going to take at least a year for Ofcom to create a ‘code of conduct’ which will work. Also, Willie Rennie is not the only political person to say that the Act will be opened for a more in depth discussion after the election. There is talk of it even being repealled. So I guess we working in the Creative Industries just have to wait for a while before we see what the outcome will be.
Random interweb find time. 🙂
Check out these pushy guitars:
Anyone else find them so cute? I want a guitar to cuddle in bed. 😛 Now, these toys are designed for kids, but why should they get all the fun. They cost £29.04 each and you get a choice from one of the three models. Either the rebel, the classic or the rockstar. If you fancy one, head over to http://www.curiosite.com/scripts/product/enproduct.php?idproducto=98960722 to get one.

Digital Economy Act- bad times.

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

Soooo…as you may have gathered from my last blog, if I have no college info to report, I am posting my random finds from the interwebs. I suppose the reason I am starting that, is because I spend a lot of time looking for news stories which I find of interest. So for every blog, I don’t have any college things to report, I will post some news, something which I value as important, so it will either be comic books, music or technology. 😛

A big SERIOUS news story is the UK government passing the Digital Economy Act, where it deals with ‘copywrite issues in a modern society’. The main points of this Act is that if there are repeated infringements on copywrite, after warnings from their Internet Service Provider (ISP) people can be cut off from the interwebs. This is a serious issues as if you get accusations, and your connection gets stopped, will it stop you from getting access with another provider? This could end up like some sort of quality check, and I can see ISPs profiteering on people with a poor history, where they have been banned by a provider.

This is a very serious concern, as there has already been numerous cases where innocent people have been threatened with court orders, after a company accuses them of illegal file sharing. Now, my stance is, if the method of ‘catching’ people is not efficient, how can a bill be passed to give the people who use these methods more power? It just doesn’t make sense. People are becoming nervous. Broadband  connections ARE NOT 100% hack-proof. Even with a password protected connection, people can still find a way to gain access. Now if these people, using your connection unauthorised, do something illegal and get caught. Its you as the account holder who will get penalised. Security needs to improve on routers, and detection methods need to be more solid, for this act to be a success.

Now the big thing that bothered me with this Act was Clause 43, which was for Photography, and that if the author of a particular image could not be contacted, then the image can be used anyway. This raised fears that someone would find a picture on Google, and simply say ‘I couldn’t find the author’ and they could use the image. This was dropped last-minute out of the bill, and will presumably get put through Parliament again once normality has resumed after the 6th May election.

It is very concerning that this bill was pushed through, just before parliament was dissolved for the election.  It is a bill which affects every person in the UK with an internet connection, and yet the majority of MPs were not present to vote on whether the bill should pass into law. This sneaked through, as if it was forced. And the media is making more fuss over Google, Microsoft and Facebook. This act was not publicised, because there would be an almighty backlash about it. Most of the MPs were working on how to start their campaigns for the General Election, rather than supporting something which could affect even themselves.

Without a foolproof method of detecting the law breakers, this act should NEVER have seen the light of day.

So, a rather serious blog, but I feel that everyone who has an issue with this Act needs to raise their concerns. We live in a democracy, where people can no longer be bothered to fight for their rights. This act should have been postponed till AFTER the election, it should not have been rushed through, like it was.

Read more about the Digital Economy Act 2010-

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/apr/08/digital-economy-bill-passes-third-reading

O2’s reaction http://www.broadbandgenie.co.uk/news/20100412-o2-speaks-out-against-luddite-digital-economy-bill

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/apr/09/digital-economy-bill-backlash

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8603285.stm

I know this act was passed last week, but when candidates come knocking on your door ask why they allowed this to go through. Ask them why they didn’t vote. I have already contacted my MP Willie Rennie about this, and will say if he decides to reply. I am not holding my breath.

Team Adobe FTW

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

Hey there.

Having issues uploading videos on Youtube, hence the reason my Fujifilm review video is not part of this blog. It was supposed to be here, and showing how the video function works, but allas that is going to have to wait another day. So kinda irked abouth that.

Also thanks to the marvelous Jon at Tehkseven (http://www.youtube.com/user/tehkseven ) who, in one of his Phonage vids (sooo good check ’em out) talked a little about novelty cushions. Now this sounds incredibly boring, until you see them.

I mean how cool are these. I’m sure I was not the only person who got EXTREMELY excited over them 😛

Okay, maybe I was, but I am geek. I get away with all sorts. The pillows cost $16.99 (£11) each and are from the lovely peoples at CraftSquatch, who speciallise is making geeky pillows. They also are selling Social Networking pillows as well, starring the Myspace logo, facebook, etc.  If you are like me, and decide that you MUST HAVE these, then visit their store at http://www.etsy.com/shop/Craftsquatch

Also a news story, which has a rather large importance to me, and many other web developers, is the wonderful Steve Jobs and his anti-Adobe stance. Where the issue stems from is that when Apple released the new iPad, it became apparent that there was going to be NO Flash. For the unitiated, Flash is the software used for videos, games and many other features of your favourite websites. *very simplified analysis of the situation* I have heard people say that this will be the ‘end for Adobe Flash’.  Which I am hoping  is a slight exaggeration, I mean I am just getting to grips with working on Flash. I am hoping that Apple and Mr Jobs, backtrack and do start using Flash again, buuuutt I seriously doubt it. I mean days before Adobe CS5 launched, Mr Jobs issued a statement saying that there was no way that Apple were going to backtrack on the Flash issue.  For more info visit http://techcrunch.com/2010/04/08/adobe-flash-apple-sdk/

Also, visit http://techcrunch.com/2010/04/09/adobe-go-screw-yourself-apple-2/ to read about Adobe’s response.

It sounds like neither side will give.  Adobe should take a leaf out of Apple’s book, and just sue them. I mean Apple is sueing just about every smartphone producer for infringing on patents, so why not.  As a developer, I do have to side with Adobe. Sorry Apple, I was becoming a wee fan, but you are acting like a spoilt child.  So Team Adobe FTW.

Hopefully this stress test for the worlds web developers, will come to an end soon. *crosses fingers*

See ya on the flipside *aka- tomorrow*